Wow superb! The mind boggles. I remember being ecstatic getting Sprawk and Kessie in Timperley not so many years ago. Used to play for Junior Blues (someone had to) on Smiths Field - north would take the birds towards Brooklands station wouldn't it?Cheers,Mike Duckham.

Helping to clear up at Unicorn Athletic Tournament at Smith's Fields (not in the Slyvan as some have suggested!) I hit the jackpot today with firstly one, then a second, third and ultimately forth Hobby, hawking insects with a flock of Black-headed Gulls and Common Swift.

The Swift kept above the Hobby, and in a fairly close group.

All the birds drifted slowly north, following the canal until I lost them over Timperley Station.

Without optics I couldn't age them, but it seems a couple of weeks too early for any to have been juveniles.

Ironically, yesterday I was watching a breeding pair on the (wrong side of the) county border in the nearby Dunham area . I've been able to confirm that these two birds were at the breeding site at the same time, so they hadn't come from there.

I remember reading somewhere that Timperley's on a flight line for Shelduck. In fact i seem to recall sightings in the bird reports, this would've been mid '80's i guess! I used to look out for them but don't recall seeing any.However i did see big flocks of Pink Feet from time to time.Cheers,Mike Duckham.

The Kingfisher showed superbly on King George V Pool and drat I didn't bother with the camera, although with dog in tow it would have been near impossible even at the range the bird was showing. A few hours here for any of the photographophiles amongst us would reap reward at the moment. No sign of any Pochard but I didn't get a chance to check out Stamford Park Pond.

King George V Pool - at least 12 Pochard, adult female with at least 6 juvs (hard to count as diving/on vegetated island) and adult female with 4 juvs - this adult female made a solo flight to Stamford Park Lake @ 6:15am, before flying back towards KGV @ 6:35am, also 1 GC Grebe and several young Coot and Moorhen on KGV and 3 Canada goslings and 3 Mallard ducklings on SPL

Hi, would have loved it if this forum had existed when i lived in Timperley, it was lonely not having anyone to swap sightings with! Used to get Grey Wag and Kingfisher on the stream at the end of the platform at Navvy Road station. Timperley Nature Reserve - worked on Park Road near there for a while, would check it from time to time, flushed a load of Snipe once during a snowy spell. Best bird tho was half a dozen Mealies on the way to work (taking a slight detour) on Timperley Golf Course one morning on the deck by the path.Re: rooftop Goldies, i used to walk from Timp into Roundthorn Ind Est to work for a while, and there were some on a roof just near Habitat.Keep it up!Cheers all,Mike.

It is more likely the Stamford brood has been predated, I would think. Are there any pike/mink there - from what I remember it's very small. Pochard broods would normally all feed together, diving frequently, which makes them difficult to count, but I still don't think they would walk in an urban area.

Is it possible the other 3 ducklings were on the nest when I saw 4 @ Stamford ? Or would they all be with the female all the time ? There has been no sign of any Pochard on Stamford in 2 visits so I think there is only one brood.......

I'll spend as much time as I can in the area and if anyone else has the time it would be appreciated if you could have a look to get a fuller picture.......

Pochard - Have you not got two broods, one at each site? Whilst broods can decrease, they can't increase (from 4 to 7) and given they've bred at KGV for 2 years now, the offspring have probably bred (philopatry is the correct name I think).Having said that, Pochard will walk their young a reasonable distance but I would doubt they would do it in urban areas.

Cheers Sid.I popped around this evening and there it was on the golf course being very friendly with alien brothers; 2 Canada Geese. I saw the 2 geese on my last visit and completely missed the Mandarin!1 Chiffchaff was blasting his song out from the adjacent housing estate and 3 Pochards are still on the pool. Thanks. Henry.

The Mandarin is still around - this morning he was on the golf course adjacent to King Georges with the two Canadas he usually knocks around with. He doesn't always stay on the water and often goes walkabout so you need to look in all areas aroun the pool. Sometimes he nips over to Stamford Park.

I heard the Mandarin drake is still around the Altrincham area but i've dipped twice recently. Other stuff on King George V Pool this evening included 3 Pochards (2 drk, 1f), 3 Tufted Ducks (2 drk, 1f) and 2 fine Great Crested Grebes.Thanks. Henry.